Punch & Brodie Productions
Leo Brodie
Puppetry for the camera is a unique form of manipulation that requires special attention to the puppet's upper body, face and mouth. This article offers specific exercises for the beginning on-camera puppeteer.
This article focuses on: the puppeteer's basic stance, how to use a non-flipped monitor, how to make the puppet "walk," and how to make it "talk."
In the end, what matters most is how the puppet looks on the screen. What you do with your own body to make the puppet look good will never be seen by the audience. The trick is to find whatever position will best serve the needs of the puppet. In general, this means moving your body only enough to keep it under the puppet.
Before beginning, decide which arm you prefer for operating the mouth. Most video puppeteers use their favored hand, but some left-handed puppeteers use their right hand. To simplify description in this text, we'll assume you're using your right hand to operate the mouth, your left hand to operate the puppet's left hand or rods.
The following is a description of a basic stance, which might be used for a single character facing the camera.
Spread your feet slightly wider than shoulder width, feet facing the imaginary camera. Center your weight over both feet. This lets you move your own body from side to side by shifting your weight from one foot to another. The farther apart your feet are, the farther you can shift.
Raise your right arm. Keep a slight bend in your elbow. Point your elbow not towards the camera, not to the side, but halfway in between (1:30).
This is a compromise. Having your arm straight out in front would let you rotate your wrist to the left 180 degrees from camera, but not to the right at all. So this can be useful if you need to have your puppet turn its back on the camera. For the basic stance, however, we want the puppet to be able to turn fully to either profile.
Again, this is a compromise. On the one hand, the straighter your arm, the higher your hand is above your head. This distance is critical, because it limits how far down the puppet's body the camera can see without your head showing.
On the other hand, to make your puppet walk, bounce, run, or dance, you must have your arm bent at the elbow. We'll discuss this point later on, but for now, remember that the more bounce needed, the more your elbow should be bent to begin with.
Your forearm should be vertical when viewed both from the front and from the side. Your forearm is the spine of the puppet. In the basic stance, we learn to operate a character with a "healthy upright" attitude. In performance, the posture of your puppet depends on what you want to express about the character.
Point your right hand, palm down, fingers extended, toward the camera. The tips of your fingers should form a straight, level line.
When you wear a puppet, your fingers press against the upper palette of the puppet's mouth. The upper palette is the foundation of the puppet's head, including its face and eyes. Thus, the level of your upper fingers determines the angle of the puppet's head, which in turn establishes its focus and its attitude.
For the basic stance, the (imaginary) puppet should be looking forward towards the camera, its eyes level.
Bring your thumb under your fingers, touching between the two middle fingers.
It should be centered between the fingers (upper palette).
Hold the hand position without tension. When your hands are free from tension, the puppet responds more naturally. Tension blocks the connection between the puppet and your instinct of how it should move.
When your hand is relaxed, a graceful curve should flow upwards from your arm, through your gently flexed wrist, through your knuckles and into your finger tips. Avoid sharp angles in your wrist and your knuckles. Also, a tense hand is more likely to shake.
Finally, get your head out of the shot. Tilt your upper body to the left, so that your left shoulder drops and your right shoulder rises.
The single biggest inconvenience in video puppeteering is the fact that you have a head. The wider the shot, the more a problem it becomes. Don't think that having a wall or hedge to hide behind will help, either. The director will still want to see as much of the puppet's body as possible. This means raising your arm as high as possible without your head showing.
You may be called upon to tilt your body and head at such an angle that your head is completely below the level of your right shoulder. Compared to this, the basic stance is comfortable.
Before beginning, adjust the height of the camera so that, when you are in the basic stance, your hand is in the upper half of the frame, and your elbow is just visible at the bottom of the frame.
Find the center point of the bottom edge of the frame on your monitor.
The first thing you notice when you puppeteer with a camera and monitor is that everything seems "reversed." When you move your arm to the left, it moves to the right on the screen. Actually, it's not reversed: it's just that you're seeing the point-of-view of the camera.
Technically, it is possible to "flip" the monitor so that the image becomes mirror-like. However, Muppet performers stick to "non-flipped" monitors. This is partly due to tradition, but more importantly, as Muppet performer Marty Robinson points out, the non-flipped monitor shows the picture the way the audience sees it.
Another advantage is that you can practice at home with consumer video equipment.
Here are some recommended steps for getting used to the monitor. Do these without a puppet:
Getting the puppet's body to stand erect sounds easy, but with the monitor, the left/right confusion makes it difficult. Here's the trick:
First adjust your body so that your arm passes through the mark (the center of the bottom). Make this adjustment by moving your own body's center of gravity left or right. If you need to, reposition your feet. Do not make this adjustment by changing the angle of your arm!
After the bottom of your arm is centered, tilt your forearm so that the "spine" is vertical. Because your base is already centered, this adjustment will put your hand (the "puppet's mouth") in the center of the frame laterally. (If you hang a string from your thumb, it should fall towards the center mark at the bottom of the frame.)
Next, tilt your wrist so that your fingertips form a level, horizontal line. If you have practice eyes, make sure the eyes are level and focused at the camera. If not, imagine eyes just above your knuckles.
You'll find that getting the puppet to stand erect is much easier when you break it down into these steps, in that order.
Remember, to straighten the puppet's body, begin by moving your own body under it.
When we watch people, we look mainly at their eyes. Even though facial expressions are formed mostly by the eyebrows, cheeks, lips, etc., the eyes are the focus of the face and the windows to the soul.
In video puppetry, the puppet's eyes are its most critical part. The eyes must appear to really see things, or to "focus." This requires both a well-built puppet and skilled puppeteer.
Watch quality video puppetry and notice how the characters focus on one thing at a time. Their gaze does not wander aimlessly.
Practice focusing the puppet's eyes in a definite place. A good place to start is: directly into the camera lens.
For these exercises, you need either practice eyes or a puppet with good eye focus.
First, assume the basic stance as described above.
Second, make sure the "spine" is erect, following each step described above.
Now, while holding the erect basic stance, concentrate on focusing the eyes directly into the camera. On screen, the puppet should be looking right back at you.
Practice having the puppet look at different points on the screen. Have it really stare at the spot; fix the gaze.
Ask someone to move their finger from place to place on the glass of the monitor screen, while you move the puppet on camera so that it appears to be following the moving finger.
Making a puppet "walk" involves both horizontal (traveling across the frame) and vertical (bouncing, stepping, or bobbing) motion. In puppeteering, these motions are produced by separate means.
To demonstrate, let's try it the wrong way first. Hold your arm straight overhead, elbows locked. Walk your puppet across the frame by walking with your own feet, so that your steps become the puppet's steps. Try running.
You'll find this looks unnatural. The reason is that the puppet is on a different scale from you, and needs to move in its own rhythm. It's "legs" are not as long as yours.
In order to create the puppet's stride, you must use your right arm, not your whole body. The secret is your bent elbow.
This first exercise deals with the vertical, bouncing motion only. At first, do this exercise without a puppet, so you can check that your forearm is vertical.
Assume the basic stance. Make sure your elbow is slightly bent.
Slowly lift the imaginary puppet a few inches off the floor, by raising your arm from the elbow. Most of the bend in your arm will disappear. Make sure that the "base" of the puppet (near your elbow) stays in the center of the frame, and does not shift from side to side. Also make sure the "spine" stays erect. Keep the movement in your arm, not your body.
Slowly bring the puppet back to its starting position, keeping it centered and vertical.
Once you've mastered this motion, imagine that as the puppet comes down, the "feet" hit the floor. Your elbow should stop in mid-air with a jerk. Actually visualize where the imaginary floor level is, and where the imaginary feet are.
This motion of coming down to meet the floor is called a "stop." Work at it, because it's the key to realistic walking, running, and many other body movements.
Next, increase the speed, so that your forearm becomes a piston. Maintain a realistic "stop." As you practice, be aware of the puppet's weight. Is the character light or heavy? How does this affect the way it hits the floor?
This bouncing motion, combined with horizontal traveling, is the basis for a simple walk. If you do it fast, it's a run.
Let's add hip motion. As your arm comes down, keep the puppet's head in the center of the frame, but move its "hip" slightly off center. You do this by cocking your elbow to one side. When you raise your arm, bring your elbow back to center. When you come down the next time, move your elbow in the opposite direction, then come back up and bring your elbow to center.
Repeat and increase your speed. Keep the head centered in the frame while the hips go left and right. This movement can be used for a fancy walk or for dancing.
The second element of walking or running is the movement across the floor. You can accomplish this by moving your own body, but not necessarily by taking steps with your feet.
Sometimes your puppet has to change direction to such a degree that you have to turn your own body around.
Assume the basic stance, with your arm in the center of the frame. Have the character turn around to its right, and walk away from the camera. Because your wrist won't turn in that direction, you must turn your whole body. But notice how difficult it is to keep the base of the puppet in the center of the frame while you turn your body. This is because your pivot point does not match the puppet's pivot point.
Try the same thing again, but this time, plant your right foot directly under the puppet. (A string hanging from your thumb would touch your foot.) Using your right foot as your own pivot point, swing your body around that point. As long as the puppet is directly above your pivot point, it will always turn in place.
For beginners, there are three things to keep in mind when learning to make a puppet talk: synchronization, thumb isolation, and projection.
A puppet's mouth moves believably if it opens when a sound is coming out, and is closed during silence.
As preparation, practice breathing. Have the puppet take in a breath and hold it. Open and close the puppet's mouth to match the sound you make with your own mouth. Now let the puppet exhale. Again, open and close its mouth to match the sound.
Count to ten. Watch the synchronization, particularly at "seven."
Starting working on normal sentences. For faster speech, you don't need to form every syllable. For example, you might mouth "refrigerator" with only four syllables, or even three.
Practice synchronization whenever you get the chance: in the car, watching TV, at meetings... When practicing on camera, sing to records you know the words to.
Open your own mouth. Notice that your jaw moves down. The upper part of your head does not tip back. So when you make your puppet talk, all the motion should be in your thumb. Your fingers should stay absolutely level.
Practice whenever you can without a puppet, concentrating on keeping your fingers level. When you can work with a monitor, wear a puppet, and try to move the mouth while keeping the eyes focused into the camera.
Review the discussion on hand position, and keeping the hand relaxed.
Just moving the thumb up and down isn't enough. It should look as if the syllables are being projected out of the puppet's mouth.
To create this illusion, add a forward motion on each syllable. Jane Henson teaches students to imagine that the sound is coming from the palm of the hand.
To get the hang of this, form a "mouth" with your bare hand and have this character cough. As you make the sound with your own mouth, open the character's mouth and thrust your palm forward.
Once you can make the puppet "cough" believably, use this same motion for normal speech. At first it will feel like you're overdoing it, but it adds a lot of energy and interest to your character. (Of course, you might deliberately not project, to express a character who lacks energy.)
Practice synchronization, thumb isolation, projection, and breathing at the same time:
Have your character face the camera. Count to 10. Before each count, take a breath.
The ideas above are just some techniques. The real heart -- and the art -- of puppetry is bringing the character to life. This quality is difficult to describe and takes a great deal of practice to get it right. But you know it when you see The puppet character seems to really be thinking and feeling.
The idea is be very specific about what your puppet focuses on at any given moment. The puppet should give all its attention to one thing, and only one thing at a time! The changing of focus from one thing to another, and the reactions that occur as the focus changes, needs to be broken down very discretely and crisply so that the thought process "reads" to the audience.
Practice with some simple scene like this: the puppet enters the frame cautiously. Stops as if hearing a sound. Looks up. Looks down. Looks left. Looks right. Sees the camera. Reacts with surprise. Then reacts with familiarity. Laughs. Runs toward the camera.
It doesn't matter what the scenario is. The thing is to practice it over and again, working on separating these steps. Make each moment as strong and as real as you can, then make the transition as strong and as clear as you can. Try not to let the whole thing slide together in a kind of sloppy flow. Be bold and muscular with these movements.
Practice different scenarios like this over and over.
Now watch Elmo or other Muppet characters on tape or television. Observe how skillfully Kevin Clash or the other puppeteers bring each of these transition moments to life.
Best of luck to you, and may your characters bring you great satisfaction!
I'd like to thank my teachers: Pam Arciero, Micheal Earl, Jane Henson, Kathy Mullen, and Marty Robinson.